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New York State Child Care Market Rate Survey Report

2019

Governor, Andrew M. Cuomo OCFS Commissioner, Sheila J. Poole

1 NEW YORK STATE CHILD CARE MARKET RATE SURVEY 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 3

DATA COLLECTION ........................................................................................................................................ 4

Overview of the Survey Process................................................................................................................ 4

Survey Questionnaire and Interview Script .............................................................................................. 4

Provider Letter .......................................................................................................................................... 4

Stratified Sampling .................................................................................................................................... 5

Provider Types .......................................................................................................................................... 5

County Cluster Groups .............................................................................................................................. 6

Additional Survey Questions ..................................................................................................................... 6

Quality Assurance Online Follow-Up Survey ............................................................................................ 7

DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................................. 8

Data Checking and Cleaning...................................................................................................................... 8

• Complete surveys .......................................................................................................................... 8

• Reasonable numerical ranges ....................................................................................................... 8

• Internal consistency checks .......................................................................................................... 8

• Treatment of flagged values ......................................................................................................... 8

Data Conversions ...................................................................................................................................... 9

• Weekly market rates ..................................................................................................................... 9

• Daily market rates ......................................................................................................................... 9

• Part-day market rates ................................................................................................................... 9

• Hourly market rates .................................................................................................................... 10

Legally-Exempt Child Care Provider Market Rates ................................................................................. 10

• Legally-exempt family and in-home child care providers ........................................................... 10

• Legally-exempt group child care programs ................................................................................. 10

2019 New York State Child Care Subsidy Market Rates ......................................................................... 11

RESULTS ...................................................................................................................................................... 12

Response Rates ....................................................................................................................................... 12

Quality Assurance Online Follow-Up Survey Results .............................................................................. 12


Child Care Subsidy Market Rates ............................................................................................................ 13

Rates at Other Percentiles ...................................................................................................................... 13

Additional Questions on the 2017-18 Child Care Market Rate Survey ................................................... 13

• Provider rate changes ................................................................................................................. 13

• Barriers to caring for children with child care subsidies ............................................................. 14

• Participation in the child care subsidy program ......................................................................... 14

• Comparison of rates charged and the 2016 market rates .......................................................... 15

RESOURCES ................................................................................................................................................. 16

TABLES ......................................................................................................................................................... 17

APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................................ 30


INTRODUCTION

The 2017-18 New York State Child Care Market Rate Survey was conducted on behalf of the

New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS). The survey was administered by

telephone between September 14, 2017, and March 14, 2018, by the Association for the Blind

and Visually Impaired (ABVI), a subcontractor of the New York State Preferred Source Program

for People Who Are Blind.

Federal statute, 42 USC 9858c(c)(4)(A), and federal regulation, 45 CFR 98.45(a), require that the

state establish payment rates for child care subsidies that are sufficient to ensure equal access

to child care services for eligible children that are comparable to those provided to families that

are not eligible to receive child care subsidies. Further, federal regulation 45 CFR 98.45(b)(2)

requires that the state summarize how payment rates are adequate based on the most recent

market rate survey or alternative methodology conducted no earlier than two years prior to the

submission date of the current New York State Child Care and Development Fund Plan.

Additionally, section 410-x(4) of the Social Services Law requires that payment rates must take

into account the variations in the costs of providing child care in different settings, to children in

different age groups, and any additional costs of providing child care for children with special

needs.

The 2017-18 Child Care Market Rate Survey was undertaken to determine the prices that

licensed, registered, and permitted child care providers charge parents for child care throughout

New York State, and to use that data as the basis for establishing payment rate ceilings for the

New York State Child Care Block Grant (NYSCCBG) subsidy program for low-income families

(commonly referred to as “the market rates”). The market rates are a ceiling for state and federal

reimbursement for payments for child care services. Section 410-x(4) of the Social Services Law

provides that the amount of payments for child care services under the NYSCCBG must be the

actual cost of care up to the applicable market rate. It should be noted that the rates reported by

child care providers are the prices that parents are charged for care.


DATA COLLECTION

Overview of the Survey Process

The 2017-18 Child Care Market Rate Survey was conducted as a telephone survey with a

stratified random sample of licensed/registered/permitted child care providers selected from

across New York State. Participation in the survey was voluntary and anonymous. Data were

collected from September 2017 to March 2018. No incentive was offered to child care providers

for their participation in the survey. Prior to the initiation of telephone calls, a letter was sent to all

licensed/registered/permitted child care providers to inform them about the upcoming survey and

to provide them with a one-page, hard-copy questionnaire that was a shortened version of what

they would be asked in the telephone survey. The hard-copy questionnaire was sent in advance

of the telephone survey so that providers could be prepared if they were called and chose to

participate in the survey. Upon completion of data collection by ABVI, all survey data were sent

to OCFS for review and analysis.

Survey Questionnaire and Interview Script

OCFS created the questionnaire and telephone interview script used in the 2017-18 Child Care

Market Rate Survey with stakeholder input solicited from

• ABVI;

• Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, the union

that represents home-based child care providers outside of New York City;

• United Federation of Teachers (UFT), the union that represents home-based child care

providers in New York City;

• New York State’s Council on Children and Families; and

• New York State’s Early Childhood Advisory Council.

The content of the New York State Child Care Market Rate Survey has remained relatively stable

over the past five surveys, particularly the questions pertaining to the rates charged, which form

the bulk of the survey. The survey asked providers to report on their full-time and part-time rates

for four age groups of children. For school-age children, the survey also asked providers for their

rates when school is not in session, such as holidays and school vacations. The questionnaire

differed for center-based providers compared to home-based providers only in the definition of

“Infant” and “Toddler” age groups, in order to align those categories with the licensing and

registration age categories used in determining the provider’s maximum capacity. A copy of the

center-based (Appendix 1) and home-based (Appendix 2) questionnaires are attached to this

report.

Provider Letter

Prior to the start of the telephone survey, OCFS mailed a letter (Appendix 3) along with a

shortened survey questionnaire to all licensed, registered, and permitted child care providers to

notify them about the possibility that they could be called to be invited to participate in the Child

Care Market Rate Survey. The mailing included a Spanish translation of both the letter and

questionnaire.


Stratified Sampling

The purpose of the Child Care Market Rate Survey was to collect child care rate data that would

be used to establish payment rate ceilings for the NYSCCBG subsidy program, such that those

payment rates ensure that subsidy recipients from across the state are able to access the full

range of provider types. Therefore, a stratified sampling approach was taken, where statistically

valid sample sizes were calculated for each of 20 combinations of provider type and county cluster

group (see below for detailed information on the provider types and five county clusters).

Sample size was calculated for each provider type and county cluster stratum using a 95 percent

confidence level and 5 percent margin of error based upon the anticipated provider universe size.

Additionally, the calculated completed survey sample size for each stratum was increased by two

in order to account for fluctuations in the provider universe size and data error/loss that could

occur prior to completion of data collection.

Provider Types

Licensed, registered, or permitted child care providers in New York State are non-

residential/center-based or home-based. The specific provider types:

• Center-based providers

o Day Care Centers (DCC). The survey universe included all DCCs in New York

State, including those located in New York City, which are permitted by the New

York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and those located outside of

New York City that are licensed by OCFS.

o School-Age Child Care programs (SACC)

o Small Day Care Centers (SDCC). It should be noted that because there was only

one SDCC provider in the state at the time of the survey, the SDCC program was

grouped with DCCs for the survey.

• Home-based providers

o Family Day Care homes (FDC)

o Group Family Day Care homes (GFDC)

In addition to these child care providers, New York State also recognizes three types of legally-

exempt child care, meaning that the providers are not required to be licensed, registered, or

permitted by New York State or New York City. The three legally-exempt provider types are in-

home (meaning in the child’s own home), family child care (in a home that is not the child’s), and

group (non-residential programs, such as summer day camps and child care programs operated

by, and on the grounds of, a school). Legally-exempt child care providers are required to become

enrolled with OCFS if they want to provide care to any children receiving child care subsidies

under the NYSCCBG. There are an unknown number of additional legally-exempt child care

providers who could not be identified by OCFS because they do not care for any children receiving

child care subsidies. As such, legally-exempt providers could not be included in a representative

and valid survey because only a subset of the entire universe of legally-exempt providers were

known to OCFS and reachable. Therefore, the universe of child care providers for the 2017-18


Child Care Market Rate Survey was composed of licensed/registered/permitted child care

providers only.

County Cluster Groups

There are 58 local social services districts (referred to as “districts” in this report) in New York

State that administer the child care subsidy program within the district. Each district consists of a

single county, except for the district of New York City, which is comprised of the five boroughs,

each of which is a county. The number of licensed/registered/permitted child care providers varies

considerably across New York State (Table 1). Many districts have too few

licensed/registered/permitted child care providers to reliably conduct a survey and establish

maximum payment rates that are representative of the population of child care providers in that

provider type and county. Therefore, districts are clustered in order to attain statistically valid and

reliable samples for each provider type (DCC, SACC, FDC, and GFDC) and age group (infant,

toddler, preschool, and school-age). These are called county clusters.

The composition of the five county clusters was first established over 10 years ago based on cost

of care data from a mail-in child care provider rate survey. Prior to conducting the 2017-18 Child

Care Market Rate Survey, a cluster analysis was performed using the 2015 Child Care Market

Rate Survey data (the most recent previous survey) in order to assess the composition of county

cluster groupings and whether those county groupings should be changed. Cluster analysis is a

statistical technique that sorts data into groups in such a way that the members within a group

are more similar to each other than to the members of other groups. Cluster analysis of the 2015

rate data indicated that the composition of the clusters should remain the same in the 2017-18

Child Care Market Rate Survey. The county clusters for the 2017-18 survey were as follows:

• Cluster 1: Nassau, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk, Westchester

• Cluster 2: Columbia, Erie, Monroe, Onondaga, Ontario, Rensselaer, Schenectady,

Tompkins, Warren

• Cluster 3: Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango,

Clinton, Cortland, Delaware, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Hamilton,

Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Montgomery, Niagara, Oneida,

Orleans, Oswego, Otsego, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, St. Lawrence, Steuben,

Sullivan, Tioga, Washington, Wayne, Wyoming, Yates

• Cluster 4: Albany, Dutchess, Orange, Saratoga, Ulster

• Cluster 5: Bronx, Brooklyn, New York, Queens, Staten Island

Additional Survey Questions

The 2017-18 Child Care Market Rate Survey included a few questions about child care

subsidies and price changes, including 1) whether the provider’s prices had changed in the past

year and why, 2) whether there are barriers to caring for children with child care subsidies, 3)

whether the provider has children with subsidies enrolled in their program, and 4) how rates

charged compare to the 2016 market rates.


Quality Assurance Online Follow-Up Survey

After the completion of the 2017-18 Child Care Market Rate Survey, OCFS conducted a follow-

up survey online to assess providers’ experiences with the 2017-18 Child Care Market Rate

Survey, including providers who participated in the telephone survey and those who did not

participate in the telephone survey. The follow-up online survey also included some rate

questions in order to verify the accuracy of price data collected during the telephone survey. A

letter was sent to all child care providers who were in the 19,015 universe for the 2017-18 Child

Care Market Rate Survey, inviting providers to participate in the online follow-up survey.

Participation was voluntary and confidential. The follow-up survey was available online for four

weeks.


DATA ANALYSIS

Upon completion of data collection by ABVI, all survey data were sent to OCFS for review and

analysis.

Data Checking and Cleaning

• Complete surveys

A survey record was counted as completed as long as a provider reported one or

more child care rates. If any of the additional survey questions were not completed,

the provider’s record was maintained in the survey database. Therefore, some of the

additional question results may have smaller sample sizes than the total number of

survey participants (n=3,744).

• Reasonable numerical ranges

OCFS checked the data by flagging values outside of reasonable numerical ranges

separately for part-time and full-time care, and hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly rates

for all age groups.

• Internal consistency checks

OCFS flagged inconsistencies in rates for individual providers for further data

checking. For a given provider, part-time weekly and monthly rates should be no more

than corresponding full-time weekly and monthly rates. For a given provider, the rates

for older children are expected to be no more than the rates for younger children.

• Treatment of flagged values

Each flagged value was compared to an individual provider’s other rates as well as to

the rates of other providers of the same provider type and county cluster in order to

identify correctable errors. An example of a correctable data entry error would be a

flagged rate of $300 per day for infants. The same provider reported rates of $275 per

week for toddlers and $250 per week for preschoolers. The rate of $300 per day for

infants was flagged because it was beyond the reasonable numerical range and was

well beyond the highest rate reported by all other providers per day for infants.

Because a rate of $300 per week was consistent with the provider’s other rates and

the rates reported by other providers of the same provider type and county cluster, the

value was changed to $300 per week.

If an obvious correction could not be determined for a flagged value based on the

provider’s other rates, then the recorded values were kept in the dataset unchanged,

unless the rates fell well beyond the reasonable numerical range, i.e., extreme outliers.

In such cases, other information about the program typically indicated that the data

should be excluded from analysis because the program was not part of the intended

universe for the survey (child care market utilized by and paid for by working families).


Data Conversions

The 2017-18 Child Care Market Rate Survey collected price data from child care providers

charged on a per-hour, -day, -week, or -month basis. Prices charged by providers per year (annual

tuition) were no longer collected in the 2017-18 survey due to the difficulty of appropriately

converting such rates to data that are useable within New York State’s child care subsidy rate

structure. However, the New York State child care subsidy market rates are established for the

following rate types: hourly, part-day, daily, and weekly. Whenever possible, the price data that

was reported by providers was used as reported. When a provider’s price structure could not be

directly mapped to a New York State child care subsidy market rate, then the original price data

were converted as follows.

• Weekly market rates

▪ Used full-time price data

▪ Per-week prices had no conversion

▪ Per-day prices were multiplied by 5

▪ Per-month prices were divided by 4.33

• Daily market rates

▪ Used a combination of full-time and part-time price data.

▪ For infant, toddler, and preschool-age children:

• Full-time per-day prices were used as the daily rate without conversion

whenever reported.

• If there was no full-time per-day rate reported for a particular age group,

then the maximum part-time rate (per-day, per-week converted, or per-

month converted) was used as long as the rate covered 20 or more

hours per week or 5 or more hours per day.

• Per-week part-time prices were divided by 5.

• Per-month part-time prices were divided by 21.65.

▪ For school-age children:

• Full-time per-day or “School Not In Session” per-day prices had no

conversion.

• Full-time per-week or “School Not In Session” per-week prices were

divided by 5.

• Full-time per-month or “School Not In Session” per-month prices were

divided by 21.65.

• Part-day market rates

▪ Calculated as two-thirds of the daily market rates. The Child Care Market Rate

survey did not include questions on the cost of part-day care, but the New York

State market rates include a part-day category which covers half the amount of

time as the daily payment rates (3-6 hours compared to 6-12 hours). To calculate

a part-day payment rate, two-thirds (instead of one half) of the daily rate was

chosen to reflect economies of scale, i.e., higher per-hour cost for a lower number

of hours in care.


• Hourly market rates

▪ No conversions were applied for this rate. The highest per-hour prices reported by

each provider for each age group were used without conversion.

Legally-Exempt Child Care Provider Market Rates

Since the total universe of legally-exempt child care providers is not known to OCFS and a

representative sample could not be selected for inclusion in the market rate survey, OCFS used

an alternative methodology to derive child care market rates for legally-exempt child care

providers. It is common for states to set payment rates for legally-exempt child care providers at

a percentage of the payment rates for corresponding types of licensed, registered, or permitted

child care.

• Legally-exempt family and in-home child care providers

▪ New York State legally-exempt family and in-home child care provider standard

market rates were calculated as 65 percent of the corresponding registered family

day care market rates for each county group, age group, and rate type.

▪ New York State legally-exempt family and in-home child care provider enhanced

market rates were calculated as 70 percent of the corresponding registered family

day care market rates for each county group, age group, and rate type. The

enhanced market rate is available to legally-exempt family and in-home child care

providers who have demonstrated to the enrollment agency that they have

completed 10 or more hours of training annually in the areas set forth in section

390-a(3)(b) of the Social Services Law.

▪ Districts have the option to increase the enhanced market rate for eligible legally-

exempt family and in-home child care providers up to a maximum of 75 percent of

the corresponding registered family day care market rates for each county group,

age group, and rate type.

• Legally-exempt group child care programs

▪ New York State legally-exempt group child care program standard market rates

were calculated as 75 percent of the corresponding licensed/permitted day care

center rates for each county group, age group, and rate type.

▪ Districts have the option to establish up to two enhanced market rates for eligible

legally-exempt group child care programs, each of which may be set at any whole

number percentage greater than 75 percent and up to a maximum of an additional

6 percent of the corresponding licensed/permitted day care center rates for each

county group, age group, and rate type.

▪ The enhanced market rates, referred to as Enhanced Market Rate-Health and

Enhanced Market Rate-Training (see the OCFS policy directive 18-OCFS-ADM-

10) are only available if the subsidy paying district has elected to establish such a

rate as indicated in their Child and Family Services Plan, and the legally-exempt

group child care program has demonstrated to the enrollment agency that they

meet the additional requirements.


2019 New York State Child Care Subsidy Market Rates

2019 child care subsidy market rates were established at the 69th percentile of the prices reported

by providers on the 2017-18 Child Care Market Rate Survey. Market rates were established for

each county cluster, provider type, age group, and rate type.

▪ County Clusters: 1 (Long Island and metro north), 2 (upstate-urban), 3 (upstate-

rural), 4 (upstate-metro north and capital), 5 (NYC)

▪ Provider Types: Day Care Centers (DCC), School-Age Child Care (SACC), Family

Day Care (FDC) and Group Family Day Care (GFDC) combined, Legally-Exempt

Group Care (LEGC), and Legally-Exempt Family Child Care (LEFC) and Legally-

Exempt In-Home Child Care (LEIH) combined

▪ Age Groups: Infant (defined as less than 18 months for DCCs, less than 2 years

for FDCs and GFDCs), Toddler (defined as 18 months through 2 years for DCCs,

2 years old for FDCs and GFDCs), Preschool (defined as 3 through 5 years),

School-Age (defined as 6 through 12 years)

▪ Rate Types: Weekly, Daily, Part-Day, Hourly

Prior to the 2015 survey, FDC and GFDC providers’ data were analyzed separately and resulted

in different sets of child care subsidy market rates for the two provider types. FDC and GFDC

providers’ data were combined for the analysis of the market rate survey data beginning in 2015

and continuing with the 2017-18 survey. A single set of child care subsidy market rates applies to

both provider types. These two provider types were combined because the health and safety

regulations, including staff/child ratios, governing the two provider types have become much the

same over the years, with the primary regulatory distinction between the two being capacity.

A percentile is a statistical measure that indicates the value below which a given percentage of

observations fall. For example, the 69th percentile rate was the rate below which 69 percent of all

rates could be found. Or, in other words, roughly seven out of 10 providers charged a rate that

was at or below the 69th percentile rate. And conversely, roughly three out of 10 providers charged

a rate that was at or above the 69th percentile rate. Percentiles are particularly useful here

because outliers and skewed data distributions have a much smaller impact on a percentile than

they would on measures of central tendency, such as an average.

If fewer than 10 prices were reported for a given county group, provider type, age group, and rate

type, then the market rates were held at the 2016 child care subsidy market rates. This occurred

for two hourly rates: infants in day care centers in county groups four and five, which is anticipated

to have a nominal impact.


RESULTS

Response Rates

Out of a total of 19,015 licensed, registered, and permitted child care providers as of September

2017, 12,098 providers were randomly selected to be contacted and invited to participate in the

Child Care Market Rate Survey. Of those 12,098 providers, 1,766 were not eligible to participate

in the survey because they had closed, were not able to be contacted due to a wrong telephone

number, or were fully funded programs (i.e., parents were never charged a fee, such as Head

Start and Advantage After School). Of the remaining 10,332 providers with survey attempts (Table

2), 3,744 providers completed the market rate survey (Table 3), for an overall response rate of 36

percent (Table 4). Response rates varied considerably by county group and provider type, from

13 percent in county group 5 SACC programs to 72 percent in county group 2 DCCs. In each

county group, licensed/permitted programs had higher response rates than corresponding

registered programs did (i.e., DCC programs had higher response rates than SACCs, likewise for

GFDCs compared to FDCs). Among non-respondents, about half did not answer their phones

and half declined to participate.

Quality Assurance Online Follow-Up Survey Results

The 19,015 licensed, registered, and permitted child care providers who were included in the

2017-18 Child Care Market Rate Survey (telephone) provider universe were sent a letter inviting

them to participate in a follow-up survey online. Nine hundred and fifty-seven (957) identifiable

providers responded to the online survey in English, although some responses were incomplete.

Providers who said that they had completed the telephone survey were largely positive in their

assessment of the telephone survey experience (93 percent reported that they were glad they

had participated). The majority of ratings of the telephone survey were positive (84 percent

positive, 13 percent neutral, 3 percent negative), as were the words that providers chose to

describe interviewers (less than 2 percent negative).

The online survey dataset was merged with the telephone survey dataset to identify those

providers who had completed both surveys and to validate the prices reported on the telephone

survey. The full-time prices reported for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers were selected for

comparison because these tend to have the most stable definitions of “full-time” care. Among

the 291, 322, and 326 providers who reported a full-time rate on both the telephone and online

surveys for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, respectively, roughly 60 percent of the rates

were exactly the same in both surveys. An additional 30 percent of rates were reasonably

similar across the two surveys (within plus or minus $50 per week). Small rate differences

across the two surveys may reasonably be expected due to the differences in the timing of

when the surveys were conducted (from one to eight months apart) and/or the wording of the

questions in each survey based on survey methodology (telephone survey that allows for

clarifications and an online survey that relies solely on the respondents’ interpretation of the

question). The correspondence of rates reported between the telephone and online surveys

validates the accuracy of the rates reported on the 2017-18 Child Care Market Rate Survey,

whose rates serve as the basis for the 2019 New York State child care subsidy market rates.


Child Care Subsidy Market Rates

The 2019 New York State child care subsidy market rates (Table 5) were established at the 69th

percentile of the rates reported in the 2017-18 Child Care Market Rate Survey for each county

cluster, provider type, age group, and rate type. Likewise, the 2014 and 2016 New York State

child care subsidy market rates were established at the 69th percentile of the rates reported in the

most recent child care market rate survey conducted prior to each rate change. The 69th percentile

was selected as a means of balancing the need to establish payment rate ceilings that provide

parents receiving child care subsidies with broad access to available child care providers while

simultaneously limiting the reduction in the number of families who could be served by funds

available under the NYSCCBG.

The market rates for a child with special needs were set at the highest child care subsidy market

rates in the state, irrespective of age, county group, or provider type for each type of rate, weekly

$406, daily $69, part-day $46, and hourly $17.00.

Rates at Other Percentiles

Although the 2019 New York State child care subsidy market rates (Table 5) were established at

the 69th percentile of the rates reported in the 2017-18 New York State Child Care Market Rate

Survey, rates are also presented here at the 50th percentile (Table 6) and 75th percentile (Table

7) of the survey price data. The 50th percentile (median) is reported because it is a measure of

central tendency commonly used to describe a distribution.

Additional Questions on the 2017-18 Child Care Market Rate Survey

• Provider rate changes

Providers were asked whether their rates had changed in the past year, and if so, what

the reasons for the changes were. A little over half of providers (55 percent) indicated

that their rates had not changed in the past year, 42 percent of providers reported that

their rates had increased, and 3 percent of providers reported decreased rates.

The percentage of providers reporting that they had raised their rates increased by 13

percentage points from the 2015 Child Care Market Rate Survey. In the period

between the 2015 and 2017-18 Child Care Market Rate Surveys, the child care

subsidy market rates were increased (effective June 1, 2016) and there were two

increases in the minimum wage on December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2017. The

most commonly reported reason that providers cited for raising their rates was salary.

Over half of providers who reported rate increases attributed the increases to salary,

food and supply costs, quality improvements, utility costs, and/or building costs (Table

8). Over one-third of those providers indicated that training, insurance, and new staff

were reasons for price increases.

Very few providers reported that they had reduced their rates. The most common

reason given by providers who reported rate decreases was “to be more competitive.”


• Barriers to caring for children with child care subsidies

Nearly three quarters of providers who participated in the survey reported that there

were one or more barriers to caring for children in receipt of child care subsidies

(2,709/3,742 = 72.4 percent, see Table 9). Among the specific barriers included on the

survey, the most commonly cited barriers were that the county does not pay for

absences (40 percent) and that the county reimbursement rates are too low (40

percent). Overall, nearly two thirds of providers cited one or more payment issues

(63.9 percent), and over half of providers had issues communicating with the county

(55.0 percent).

• Participation in the child care subsidy program

Despite the barriers reported by providers, nearly 70 percent of survey respondents

reported that they cared for one or more children in receipt of child care subsidies

(2,584 / 3,737 = 69.1 percent, see Table 10). This is consistent with other data sources.

According to the FFY2017-18 ACF-800 annual report, 13,662 licensed, registered, and

permitted child care providers cared for one or more children with subsidies during the

year, in a year with roughly 19,000 licensed, registered, and permitted providers in

New York (72 percent).

Of those survey respondents who reported caring for children with child care subsidies,

the vast majority (88.2 percent) also reported having a contract with the local

department of social services (LDSS). The validity of this percentage is unconfirmed

because there can be confusion among providers as to what constitutes a “contract”

with an LDSS. Some survey participants may have responded in the affirmative to this

survey question based on the completion and/or exchange of paperwork with the

LDSS that is necessary to process and receive subsidy payments, rather than having

an actual contract with the LDSS.

Roughly half of providers who report caring for children with child care subsidies also

report charging families the difference between their rates and the LDSS payment

rates. In New York State, when a provider enters into a contract with an LDSS, the

contracted subsidy payment rate is considered the “actual cost of care,” even if the

contracted provider has a higher private pay rate. By entering into such contract, the

provider agrees to accept the contracted rate, which may be lower than the “market

rates.” Providers may enter into contracts with lower rates because of other payment

advantages, such as payments for absences, program closures, holidays, etc. Among

providers with subsidized children in care who did not have a contract with an LDSS,

only 35 percent reported that they would charge families above the child care subsidy.

Data for these two questions (LDSS contracts and charging families the amount in

excess of the LDSS rates) are surprising and suggest that the questions may have

been misinterpreted by survey respondents.


• Comparison of rates charged and the 2016 market rates

Approximately 15 percent of providers reported that they charged rates equal to the

2016 market rates, while over 40 percent reported that they charged lower rates, and

around 40 percent reported that they charged higher rates (see Table 11). Of those

providers who reported rates that were higher than the 2016 market rates, rates were

approximately $45 per week higher than the 2016 market rates.


RESOURCES

OCFS issues external policy statements on a regular basis on the topic of child care subsidy

market rates, which are available on the agency’s website at

http://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/. These policy statements include payment rates for child

care subsidies, as well as policy pertaining to calculating payments for child care subsidies.

19-OCFS-LCM-23: Child Care Market Rates 2019 16-OCFS-LCM-18: Child Care Market Rates 2016 14-OCFS-LCM-03: Child Care Market Rates 2014-2015 11-OCFS-LCM-12: Child Care Market Rates 2011-2013 10-OCFS-LCM-01: Child Care Market Rates 2009-2011 08-OCFS-LCM-10: Child Care Market Rates 2007-2009 05-OCFS-LCM-17: Child Care Market Rates (regarding 2005 market rates) 04-OCFS-LCM-07: Child Care Market Rates (regarding 2003 market rates) 02-OCFS-LCM-16: Child Care Market Rates (regarding 2001 market rates) 00-OCFS-ADM-01: Child Care: Revised Market Rates (regarding 1999 market rates)

http://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/

https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/ocfs_2019/LCM/19-OCFS-LCM-23.docx

https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/ocfs_2019/LCM/19-OCFS-LCM-23.docx

https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/OCFS_2016/LCMs/16-OCFS-LCM-18.pdf

https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/OCFS_2016/LCMs/16-OCFS-LCM-18.pdf

http://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/OCFS_2014/LCMs/14-OCFS-LCM-03%20Child%20Care%20Market%20Rates%20%202014-2015.pdf

http://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/OCFS_2011/LCMs/11-OCFS-LCM-12%20Child%20Care%20Market%20Rates%202011-2013.pdf

http://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/OCFS_2010/LCM/10-OCFS-LCM-01%20Child%20Care%20Market%20Rates%20%202009-2011.pdf

http://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/OCFS_2008/LCMs/08-OCFS-LCM-10%20Child%20Care%20Market%20Rates%202007-2009.pdf

http://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/OCFS_2005/LCMs/05-OCFS-LCM-17%20Child%20Care%20Market%20Rates.pdf

https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/OCFS_2004/LCMs/04-OCFS-LCM-07%20Child%20Care%20Market%20Rates.doc

https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/OCFS_2004/LCMs/04-OCFS-LCM-07%20Child%20Care%20Market%20Rates.doc

https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/OCFS_2002/LCMs/02-OCFS%20LCM-16%20Child%20Care%20Market%20Rates.doc

https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/OCFS_2002/LCMs/02-OCFS%20LCM-16%20Child%20Care%20Market%20Rates.doc

http://ocfs.ny.gov/main/policies/external/OCFS_2000/ADMs/00-OCFS-ADM-01%20Child%20Care--Revised%20Market%20Rates.pdf


TABLES

Table 1. Distribution of licensed/registered/permitted child care provider universe in New York

State by county and provider type, September 2017.

Table 2. Number of child care providers with attempted surveys by county cluster group and

provider type (survey attempts includes providers with complete surveys, refusals, and

unanswered call attempts).

Table 3. Number of child care providers with complete and valid surveys by county cluster group

and provider type.

Table 4. Response rates (child care providers with complete and valid surveys divided by

providers with survey attempts) by county cluster group and provider type.

Table 5. 2019 New York State child care subsidy market rates per county cluster group, provider

type, age group, and rate type.

Table 6. The 50th percentiles (i.e., median) of rates per county cluster group, provider type,

age group, and rate type.

Table 7. The 75th percentiles of rates per county cluster group, provider type, age group, and

rate type.

Table 8. Reasons reported for increases and decreases in the rates that providers charge and

the reasons for those changes.

Table 9. Number and percentage of providers reporting barriers to caring for children with child

care subsidies.

Table 10. Participation in the child care subsidy program.

Table 11. Comparison of weekly rates as reported by providers in the 2017-18 market rate

survey compared to the 2016 child care subsidy maximum payment rates (“market rates”).


Table 1. Distribution of licensed/registered/permitted child care provider universe in New York

State by county and provider type, September 2017.

County

Cluster

Provider Type Total

County DCC FDC GFDC SACC

1

Nassau 218 101 573 119 1,011

Putnam 25 13 23 11 72

Rockland 59 45 116 34 254

Suffolk 203 145 333 111 792

Westchester 189 122 286 134 731

694 426 1,331 409 2,860

2

Columbia 14 12 13 8 47

Erie 195 80 163 86 524

Monroe 126 363 233 59 781

Onondaga 81 193 120 60 454

Ontario 17 45 15 8 85

Rensselaer 27 38 21 30 116

Schenectady 38 61 39 25 163

Tompkins 19 23 28 16 86

Warren 15 24 9 10 58

532 839 641 302 2,314

3

Allegany 6 13 11 5 35

Broome 37 41 20 25 123

Cattaraugus 10 19 10 7 46

Cayuga 14 28 9 11 62

Chautauqua 21 37 21 15 94

Chemung 16 50 18 17 101

Chenango 7 26 16 4 53

Clinton 15 47 41 12 115

Cortland 19 18 10 8 55

Delaware 12 29 6 3 50

Essex* 12 25 10 5 52

Franklin 16 25 17 6 64

Fulton 6 11 10 5 32

Genesee 12 14 11 10 47

Greene 10 13 6 4 33

Hamilton 1 2 3

Herkimer 7 26 16 6 55

Jefferson 15 52 23 20 110

Lewis 4 13 2 3 22

Livingston 8 16 13 8 45


County

Cluster

Provider Type Total

County DCC FDC GFDC SACC

Madison 10 19 10 6 45

Montgomery 7 12 15 3 37

Niagara 43 38 22 29 132

Oneida 37 93 49 30 209

Orleans 10 4 9 3 26

Oswego 13 42 18 15 88

Otsego 16 21 9 1 47

Schoharie 7 8 8 2 25

Schuyler 3 7 5 1 16

Seneca 2 21 2 1 26

St. Lawrence 12 48 24 3 87

Steuben 25 59 22 14 120

Sullivan 11 24 13 8 56

Tioga 6 10 8 6 30

Washington 8 23 27 2 60

Wayne 19 26 12 4 61

Wyoming 6 11 9 4 30

Yates 4 12 4 20

486 982 538 306 2,312

4

Albany 65 71 60 61 257

Dutchess 68 61 67 41 237

Orange 59 48 91 42 240

Saratoga 45 59 61 30 195

Ulster 43 70 40 13 166

280 309 319 187 1,095

5

Bronx 308 753 2,000 296 3,357

Brooklyn 816 246 1,446 460 2,968

Manhattan 518 349 464 291 1,622

Queens 500 170 1,095 345 2,110

Staten Island 109 19 182 67 377

2,251 1,537 5,187 1,459 10,434

NYS Total 4,243 4,093 8,016 2,663 19,015

Abbreviations: DCC=Licensed/Registered/Permitted Day Care Center, FDC=Registered Family Day Care, GFDC= Licensed Group Family Day Care, SACC=Registered School-Age Child Care.

*Includes one small day care center grouped with day care centers.


Table 2. Number of child care providers with attempted surveys by county cluster group and

provider type (survey attempts includes providers with complete surveys, refusals, and

unanswered call attempts). It excludes providers who were not eligible to participate in the

survey because they had closed, were not able to be contacted because of an incorrect

telephone number, or were fully funded programs (i.e., parents were never charged a fee, such

as Head Start and Advantage Afterschool). 2017-18 New York State Child Care Market Rate

Survey.

Provider Type

County Cluster DCC FDC GFDC SACC Total

1 423 377 585 380 1,765

2 320 723 570 271 1,884

3* 328 688 419 269 1,704

4 245 284 299 175 1,003

5 955 1,229 768 1,024 3,976

NYS Total 2,271 3,301 2,641 2,119 10,332




Table 3. Number of child care providers with complete and valid surveys by county cluster

group and provider type. 2017-18 New York State Child Care Market Rate Survey.

Provider Type


1 255 107** 303 135** 800

2 231 241** 193** 81** 746

3* 175** 280 230 94** 779

4 121** 86** 118** 54** 379

5 331 205** 366 138** 1,040

NYS Total 1,113 919 1,210 502 3,744



**Indicates that the provider universe list was exhausted or nearly exhausted prior to attaining the calculated survey sample size for the provider type-county cluster cell.


Table 4. Response rates (child care providers with complete and valid surveys divided by

providers with survey attempts) by county cluster group and provider type. 2017-18 New York

State Child Care Market Rate Survey.

Provider Type


1 60% 28%** 52% 35%** 45%

2 72% 33%** 34%** 30%** 40%

3* 53%** 41% 55% 35%** 46%

4 49%** 30%** 39%** 31%** 38%

5 35% 17%** 48% 13%** 26%

NYS Total 49% 28% 46% 24% 36%



**Indicates that the provider universe list was exhausted or nearly exhausted prior to attaining the calculated survey sample size for the provider type-county cluster cell.


Table 5. 2019 New York State child care subsidy market rates per county cluster group, provider type, age group, and rate type.

Based on the 69th percentile of the 2017-18 New York State Child Care Market Rate Survey.

Weekly Daily Part-Day Hourly

County Cluster

Provider Type I T PS SA I T PS SA I T PS SA I T PS SA

1

DCC/SACC $364 $338 $310 $317 $65 $62 $55 $65 $43 $41 $37 $43 $9.50 $11.00 $10.00 $8.00

FDC/GFDC $300 $295 $285 $275 $60 $60 $60 $57 $40 $40 $40 $38 $10.00 $10.00 $10.00 $10.00

LEGC $233 $238 $41 $49 $28 $32 $7.50 $6.00

LE-Std $195 $192 $185 $179 $39 $39 $39 $37 $26 $26 $26 $25 $6.50 $6.50 $6.50 $6.50

LE-Enh $210 $207 $200 $193 $42 $42 $42 $40 $28 $28 $28 $27 $7.00 $7.00 $7.00 $7.00

2

DCC/SACC $280 $264 $245 $215 $59 $55 $51 $45 $39 $37 $34 $30 $9.75 $9.25 $9.00 $9.00

FDC/GFDC $190 $185 $180 $175 $40 $40 $38 $35 $27 $27 $25 $23 $8.00 $8.00 $8.00 $8.00

LEGC $184 $161 $38 $34 $26 $23 $6.75 $6.75

LE-Std $124 $120 $117 $114 $26 $26 $25 $23 $18 $18 $16 $15 $5.20 $5.20 $5.20 $5.20

LE-Enh $133 $130 $126 $123 $28 $28 $27 $25 $19 $19 $18 $16 $5.60 $5.60 $5.60 $5.60

3

DCC/SACC $220 $206 $195 $180 $48 $45 $44 $39 $32 $30 $29 $26 $8.00 $8.00 $8.00 $7.00

FDC/GFDC $160 $150 $150 $150 $35 $35 $33 $30 $23 $23 $22 $20 $5.00 $5.00 $5.00 $5.00

LEGC $146 $135 $33 $29 $22 $20 $6.00 $5.25

LE-Std $104 $98 $98 $98 $23 $23 $21 $20 $15 $15 $14 $13 $3.25 $3.25 $3.25 $3.25

LE-Enh $112 $105 $105 $105 $25 $25 $23 $21 $16 $16 $15 $14 $3.50 $3.50 $3.50 $3.50

4

DCC/SACC $282 $265 $250 $230 $59 $55 $52 $50 $39 $37 $35 $33 $8.50 $8.25 $9.00 $9.75

FDC/GFDC $225 $210 $200 $200 $45 $45 $45 $40 $30 $30 $30 $27 $8.75 $8.75 $8.50 $9.00

LEGC $188 $173 $39 $38 $26 $25 $6.75 $7.31

LE-Std $146 $137 $130 $130 $29 $29 $29 $26 $20 $20 $20 $18 $5.69 $5.69 $5.53 $5.85

LE-Enh $158 $147 $140 $140 $32 $32 $32 $28 $21 $21 $21 $19 $6.13 $6.13 $5.95 $6.30

5

DCC/SACC $406 $315 $289 $236 $69 $60 $54 $47 $46 $40 $36 $31 $15.75 $17.00 $15.75 $10.00

FDC/GFDC $200 $196 $185 $170 $40 $40 $35 $35 $27 $27 $23 $23 $16.00 $15.00 $15.00 $15.00

LEGC $217 $177 $41 $35 $27 $23 $11.81 $7.50

LE-Std $130 $127 $120 $111 $26 $26 $23 $23 $18 $18 $15 $15 $10.40 $9.75 $9.75 $9.75

LE-Enh $140 $137 $130 $119 $28 $28 $25 $25 $19 $19 $16 $16 $11.20 $10.50 $10.50 $10.50

Abbreviations: I=infant, T=toddler, PS=preschooler, SA=school age, DCC=licensed/registered/permitted day care center, FDC=registered family day care, GFDC=licensed group family day care, LE-Std=legally-exempt family and in-home child care standard rate, LE-Enh=legally-exempt family and in-home child care enhanced rate, LEGC=legally-exempt group child care, SACC=registered school-age child care.


Table 6. The 50th percentiles (i.e. median) of rates per county cluster group, provider type, age group, and rate type. Based on the

2017-18 New York State Child Care Market Rate Survey.


County Cluster


1

DCC/SACC $344 $312 $287 $290 $55 $53 $43 $58 $37 $35 $29 $39 $9.75 $10.00 $10.00 $5.00

FDC/GFDC $289 $275 $275 $265 $60 $55 $53 $53 $40 $37 $35 $35 $10.00 $10.00 $10.00 $10.00

LEGC $215 $218 $32 $44 $22 $29 $8.00 $4.00

LE-Std $188 $179 $179 $172 $39 $36 $34 $34 $26 $24 $23 $23 $7.00 $7.00 $7.00 $7.00

LE-Enh $202 $193 $193 $186 $42 $39 $37 $37 $28 $26 $25 $25 $7.00 $7.00 $7.00 $7.00

2

DCC/SACC $259 $244 $227 $200 $53 $49 $45 $42 $35 $33 $30 $28 $9.00 $8.50 $8.50 $8.00

FDC/GFDC $185 $175 $175 $165 $37 $35 $35 $33 $25 $23 $23 $22 $6.00 $6.00 $6.00 $6.00

LEGC $170 $150 $34 $32 $23 $21 $6.00 $6.00

LE-Std $120 $114 $114 $107 $24 $23 $23 $21 $16 $15 $15 $14 $4.00 $4.00 $4.00 $4.00

LE-Enh $130 $123 $123 $116 $26 $25 $25 $23 $18 $16 $16 $15 $4.00 $4.00 $4.00 $4.00

3

DCC/SACC $205 $195 $185 $170 $44 $42 $39 $35 $29 $28 $26 $23 $7.25 $7.50 $7.50 $7.00

FDC/GFDC $150 $150 $150 $140 $30 $30 $30 $30 $20 $20 $20 $20 $5.00 $5.00 $5.00 $5.00

LEGC $139 $128 $29 $26 $20 $17 $6.00 $5.00

LE-Std $98 $98 $98 $91 $20 $20 $20 $20 $13 $13 $13 $13 $3.00 $3.00 $3.00 $3.00

LE-Enh $105 $105 $105 $98 $21 $21 $21 $21 $14 $14 $14 $14 $4.00 $4.00 $4.00 $4.00

4

DCC/SACC $270 $250 $230 $210 $52 $50 $48 $45 $35 $33 $32 $30 N/A* $8.75 $8.50 $8.25

FDC/GFDC $225 $200 $200 $190 $45 $42 $40 $40 $30 $28 $27 $27 $8.00 $8.00 $8.00 $8.00

LEGC $173 $158 $36 $34 $24 $23 $6.00 $6.00

LE-Std $146 $130 $130 $124 $29 $27 $26 $26 $20 $18 $18 $18 $5.00 $5.00 $5.00 $5.00

LE-Enh $158 $140 $140 $133 $32 $29 $28 $28 $21 $20 $19 $19 $6.00 $6.00 $6.00 $6.00

5

DCC/SACC $369 $270 $248 $203 $60 $51 $43 $40 $40 $34 $29 $27 N/A* $13.25 $10.00 $9.00

FDC/GFDC $195 $175 $170 $150 $39 $35 $30 $30 $26 $23 $20 $20 $12.50 $11.00 $12.00 $12.00

LEGC $186 $152 $32 $30 $22 $20 $8.00 $7.00

LE-Std $127 $114 $111 $98 $25 $23 $20 $20 $17 $15 $13 $13 $8.00 $7.00 $8.00 $8.00

LE-Enh $137 $123 $119 $105 $27 $25 $21 $21 $18 $16 $14 $14 $9.00 $8.00 $8.00 $8.00

Abbreviations: I=infant, T=toddler, PS=preschooler, SA=school age, DCC=licensed/registered/permitted day care center, FDC=registered family day care,

GFDC=licensed group family day care, LE-Std=legally-exempt family and in-home child care standard rate, LE-Enh=legally-exempt family and in-home child care

enhanced rate, LEGC=legally-exempt group child care, SACC=registered school-age child care.

*Percentiles not calculated due to insufficient sample size in this cell (n<10 providers with reported rates).


Table 7. The 75th percentiles of rates per county cluster group, provider type, age group, and rate type. Based on the 2017-18 New

York State Child Care Market Rate Survey.


County Cluster


1

DCC/SACC $370 $360 $319 $320 $72 $66 $58 $66 $48 $44 $39 $44 $11.00 $12.00 $11.00 $9.50

FDC/GFDC $300 $300 $295 $288 $65 $62 $60 $60 $43 $41 $40 $40 $11.00 $10.00 $10.00 $10.00

LEGC $239 $240 $44 $50 $36 $33 $29 $33 $8.25 $9.00 $8.25 $7.13

LE-Std $195 $195 $192 $187 $42 $40 $39 $39 $28 $27 $26 $26 $7.15 $6.50 $6.50 $6.50

LE-Enh $210 $210 $207 $202 $46 $43 $42 $42 $30 $29 $28 $28 $7.70 $7.00 $7.00 $7.00

2

DCC/SACC $288 $273 $250 $220 $60 $56 $53 $47 $40 $37 $35 $31 $9.90 $9.50 $9.00 $9.00

FDC/GFDC $200 $190 $185 $175 $40 $40 $40 $36 $27 $27 $27 $24 $9.00 $8.00 $8.00 $8.00

LEGC $188 $165 $40 $35 $30 $28 $26 $23 $7.43 $7.13 $6.75 $6.75

LE-Std $130 $124 $120 $114 $26 $26 $26 $23 $18 $18 $18 $16 $5.85 $5.20 $5.20 $5.20

LE-Enh $140 $133 $130 $123 $28 $28 $28 $25 $19 $19 $19 $17 $6.30 $5.60 $5.60 $5.60

3

DCC/SACC $225 $210 $203 $180 $50 $47 $45 $40 $33 $31 $30 $27 $8.50 $8.00 $8.00 $7.50

FDC/GFDC $160 $160 $155 $150 $35 $35 $35 $30 $23 $23 $23 $20 $5.00 $5.00 $5.00 $5.00

LEGC $152 $135 $34 $30 $25 $23 $23 $20 $6.38 $6.00 $6.00 $5.63

LE-Std $104 $104 $101 $98 $23 $23 $23 $20 $15 $15 $15 $13 $3.25 $3.25 $3.25 $3.25

LE-Enh $112 $112 $109 $105 $25 $25 $25 $21 $16 $16 $16 $14 $3.50 $3.50 $3.50 $3.50

4

DCC/SACC $292 $270 $251 $247 $61 $59 $55 $51 $41 $39 $37 $34 N/A* $9.25 $9.00 $10.00

FDC/GFDC $230 $225 $210 $200 $47 $45 $45 $45 $31 $30 $30 $30 $9.00 $9.00 $9.00 $10.00

LEGC $188 $185 $41 $38 $31 $29 $28 $26 $6.38 $6.94 $6.75 $7.50

LE-Std $150 $146 $137 $130 $31 $29 $29 $29 $20 $20 $20 $20 $5.85 $5.85 $5.85 $6.50

LE-Enh $161 $158 $147 $140 $33 $32 $32 $32 $22 $21 $21 $21 $6.30 $6.30 $6.30 $7.00

5

DCC/SACC $425 $330 $325 $238 $74 $65 $58 $48 $49 $43 $39 $32 N/A* $15.75 $15.00 $12.00

FDC/GFDC $225 $200 $195 $175 $45 $45 $40 $35 $30 $30 $27 $23 $18.00 $15.50 $15.00 $15.00

LEGC $244 $179 $44 $36 $37 $32 $29 $24 $11.81 $11.81 $11.25 $9.00

LE-Std $146 $130 $127 $114 $29 $29 $26 $23 $20 $20 $18 $15 $11.70 $10.08 $9.75 $9.75

LE-Enh $158 $140 $137 $123 $32 $32 $28 $25 $21 $21 $19 $16 $12.60 $10.85 $10.50 $10.50

Abbreviations: I=infant, T=toddler, PS=preschooler, SA=school age, DCC=licensed/registered/permitted day care center, FDC=registered family day care,

GFDC=licensed group family day care, LE-Std=legally-exempt family and in-home child care standard rate, LE-Enh=legally-exempt family and in-home child care

enhanced rate, LEGC=legally-exempt group child care, SACC=registered school-age child care.

*Percentiles not calculated due to insufficient sample size in this cell (n<10 providers with reported rates).


Table 8. Reasons reported for increases and decreases in the rates that providers charge and

the reasons for those changes. 2017-18 New York State Child Care Market Rate Survey.

Rate Increases (n=1,561)

Reason* # % of Providers

with Rate Increases

% of Providers with Surveys

Salary 1,398 89.6% 37.4%

Food and supplies 1,181 75.7% 31.6%

Quality improvement 925 59.3% 24.7%

Utilities 863 55.3% 23.1%

Building costs 795 50.9% 21.2%

Training 733 47.0% 19.6%

Insurance 713 45.7% 19.1%

New staff 685 43.9% 18.3%

Health insurance 617 39.5% 16.5%

Other 177 11.3% 4.7%

Rate Decreases (n=130)

Reason* # % of Providers

with Rate Decreases

% of Providers with Surveys

To be more competitive 56 43.1% 1.5%

Fewer children in care 46 35.4% 1.2%

Decreased costs 21 16.2% 0.6%

More children in care 12 9.2% 0.3%

Other 49 37.7% 1.3%

*Reasons are not mutually exclusive. Providers could select any and all reasons for their rate increase or decrease.


Table 9. Number and percentage of providers reporting barriers to caring for children with child care subsidies. 2017-18 New York State Child Care Market Rate Survey (n=3,742 respondents).

Barriers to Caring for Children With Subsidies* # %

Payment Issues

County doesn’t pay for absences 1,505 40.2%

Payment rates are too low 1,493 39.9%

Takes too long to get paid 1,319 35.2%

County pays less than my rate 1,310 35.0%

County doesn’t pay for holidays 1,293 34.6%

Inconsistent subsidy funding 966 25.8%

Any payment issues (as indicated above) 2,390 63.9%

DSS Communication Issues

Hard to talk to anyone at the county 1,109 29.6%

Don’t know if subsidy is authorized when care begins 1,313 35.1%

Don’t have timely notice when subsidy case closes 1,271 34.0%

Paperwork 879 23.5%

Any communication issues (as indicated above) 2,059 55.0%

Family Issues

Parents not paying family share 1,054 28.2%

Subsidy ends and kids leave 1,364 36.5%

Any family issues (as indicated above) 1,717 45.9%

*Barriers are not mutually exclusive. Providers could select any and all barriers.


Table 10. Participation in the child care subsidy program. 2017-18 New York State Child Care

Market Rate Survey.

# %

Of children currently enrolled, how is their care paid for?

All private pay 1,152 30.8%

All local department of social services (LDSS) 110 2.9%

Both private pay and LDSS 2,475 66.2%

Of those who report being paid by the LDSS, how many have a contract?

LDSS contract 2,279 88.2%

No LDSS contract 305 11.8%

Of those who report being paid by the LDSS, do you charge the difference between your rates and LDSS rates?

Yes 1,390 53.8%

No 1,194 46.2%


Table 11. Comparison of weekly rates as reported by providers in the 2017-18 market rate

survey compared to the 2016 child care subsidy maximum payment rates (“market rates”).

Infants Toddlers Preschool

n % n % n %

2017-18 Provider Rates < 2016 Market Rates

1,149 44.2% 1,215 42.1% 1,281 44.3%

2017-18 Provider Rates = 2016 Market Rates

456 17.5% 459 15.9% 483 16.7%

2017-18 Provider Rates > 2016 Market Rates

997 38.3% 1,215 42.1% 1,128 39.0%

Average amount in excess of 2016 Market Rates

$44.10 $47.46 $48.50


APPENDICES

Appendix 1. New York State Child Care Rate Survey – 2017 – DCC/SACC

Appendix 2. New York State Child Care Rate Survey – 2017 – FDC/GFDC

Appendix 3. Letter to child care providers introducing the 2017-18 Child Care Market Rate

Survey.

APPENDIX 1

NEW YORK STATE CHILD CARE RATE SURVEY – 2017 – DCC/SACC

2) Of the children currently enrolled, how is their care paid for? Check ONE:

ONLY private pay.

BOTH private pay AND the County Department of Social Services (or in NYC by ACS or HRA).

ONLY the County DSS (or in New York City by ACS or HRA).

3) Do you have a rate agreement or contract with the County Department of Social Services (or in NYC with ACS or HRA)?

Check ONE: No

Yes

RATES: Please answer the questions below using the rates you charge for PRIVATE PAY CLIENTS.

4a) What is the rate you charge for FULL-TIME care for children in each age

group?

AND 4b) How many hours do

full-time rates cover?

INFANT

(Up to 18 months) $_______per hour $_______per day $_______per week $_______per month

________hours/week

TODDLER

(18 to 36 months) $_______per hour $_______per day $_______per week $_______per month

________hours/week

PRE-SCHOOL

(3 thru 5 years) $_______per hour $_______per day $_______per week $_______per month

________hours/week

SCHOOL AGE (6 years thru 12 years) - SCHOOL NOT IN SESSION, e.g. summer, holidays

$_______per hour $_______per day $_______per week $_______per month

________hours/week

5a) What is the rate you charge for PART-TIME care for children in each age group?

If you have hourly rates and rates for any other period (for example, hourly and daily

rates), please give both rates. For school age children, please give all applicable rates.

AND

5b) How many hours a day

and days a week do part-

time rates typically cover?

INFANT

(Up to 18 months) $_______per hour $_______per day $_______per week $_______per month

____hrs/day

____days/wk

TODDLER

(18 to 36 months) $_______per hour $_______per day $_______per week $_______per month

____hrs/day

____days/wk

PRE-SCHOOL


Before & After

Free Pre-K $_______per hour $_______per day $_______per week $_______per month

____hrs/day

____hrs/day

____days/wk

____days/wk

SCHOOL AGE (6 years thru 12 years) - SCHOOL IN SESSION

After School $_______per hour $_______per day $_______per week $_______per month

Before & After

School $_______per hour $_______per day $_______per week $_______per month

____hrs/day

____hrs/day

____ days/wk

____ days/wk



____hrs/day

____days/wk

# Full-Time # Part-Time

Infants (Up to 18 months)

Toddlers (18 months to 36 months)

Pre-school children (3 years thru 5 years)

School age children (6 years thru 12 years)

Children over 12 years with special needs

1) How many children in

each age group are

currently enrolled in your

child care program full-

time and part-time?

6) If your rates are higher than the DSS market rates, do you charge DSS families the difference between what the DSS pays

you and what your actual rate is? (Check ONE:) No

Yes

7) Have any of your rates increased in the past year due to higher operating costs?

No → GO TO QUESTION 8

Yes → If yes, why did your rates go up? (Check ALL that apply.)

Salary / cost of living Fewer children in care Program supplies Training

Health insurance More children in care Building costs New staff

Insurance Food Utilities Quality improvements

8) Have any of your rates decreased in the past year?


Yes → If yes, why did your rates go down? (Check ALL that apply.)

Decreased costs More children in care Other

To be more competitive Fewer children in care

9) Are there any barriers to caring for children with child care subsidies? (Check ALL that apply.)

Takes too long to get paid Hard to talk to anyone at the County Don’t always know if subsidy

Payment rates are too low Inconsistent subsidy funding is authorized when care begins.

County doesn’t pay for holidays Paperwork Don’t have timely notice when

County doesn’t pay for absences Parents not paying family share subsidy case closes.

County pays less than my rate Subsidy ends and kids leave Other

10) Including yourself, how many paid employees work in your child care program? __________ # Full-Time Employees

__________ # Part-Time Employees

APPENDIX 2

NEW YORK STATE CHILD CARE RATE SURVEY – 2017 – FDC/GFDC

2) Of the children currently enrolled, how is their care paid for? Check ONE:

ONLY private pay.

BOTH private pay AND the County Department of Social Services (or in NYC by ACS or HRA).

ONLY the County DSS (or in New York City by ACS or HRA).

3) Do you have a rate agreement or contract with the County Department of Social Services (or in NYC with ACS or HRA)?

Check ONE: No

Yes

RATES: Please answer the questions below using the rates you charge for PRIVATE PAY CLIENTS.

4a) What is the rate you charge for FULL-TIME care for children in each age

group?

AND 4b) How many hours do the

full-time rates cover?

INFANT

(Under 2 years) $_______per hour $_______per day $_______per week $_______per month

________hours/week

TODDLER

(2 years) $_______per hour $_______per day $_______per week $_______per month

________hours/week

PRE-SCHOOL


________hours/week



________hours/week

5a) What is the rate you charge for PART-TIME care for children in each age group?

If you have hourly rates and rates for any other period (for example, hourly and daily

rates), please give both rates. For school age children, please give all applicable rates.

AND

5b) How many hours a day

and days a week do part-

time rates typically cover?

INFANT

(Under 2 years) $_______per hour $_______per day $_______per week $_______per month

____hrs/day

____days/wk

TODDLER

(2 years) $_______per hour $_______per day $_______per week $_______per month

____hrs/day

____days/wk

PRE-SCHOOL


Before & After

Free Pre-K $_______per hour $_______per day $_______per week $_______per month

____hrs/day

____hrs/day

____days/wk

____days/wk

SCHOOL AGE (6 years thru 12 years) - SCHOOL IN SESSION

After School $_______per hour $_______per day $_______per week $_______per month

Before & After

School $_______per hour $_______per day $_______per week $_______per month

____hrs/day

____hrs/day

____ days/wk

____ days/wk



____hrs/day

____days/wk

# Full-Time # Part-Time

Infants (Under 2 years)

Toddlers (2 years)

Pre-school children (3 years thru 5 years)

School age children (6 years thru 12 years)

Children over 12 years with special needs

1) How many children in

each age group are

currently enrolled in your

child care program full-

time and part-time?

6) If your rates are higher than the DSS market rates, do you charge DSS families the difference between what the DSS pays

you and what your actual rate is? (Check ONE:) No

Yes

7) Have any of your rates increased in the past year due to higher operating costs?


Yes → If yes, why did your rates go up? (Check ALL that apply.)

Salary / cost of living Fewer children in care Program supplies Training

Health insurance More children in care Building costs New staff

Insurance Food Utilities Quality improvements

8) Have any of your rates decreased in the past year?


Yes → If yes, why did your rates go down? (Check ALL that apply.)

Decreased costs More children in care Other

To be more competitive Fewer children in care

9) Are there any barriers to caring for children with child care subsidies? (Check ALL that apply.)

Takes too long to get paid Hard to talk to anyone at the County Don’t always know if subsidy

Payment rates are too low Inconsistent subsidy funding is authorized when care begins.

County doesn’t pay for holidays Paperwork Don’t have timely notice when

County doesn’t pay for absences Parents not paying family share subsidy case closes.

County pays less than my rate Subsidy ends and kids leave Other

10) Including yourself, how many paid employees work in your child care program? __________ # Full-Time Employees

__________ # Part-Time Employees

11) For New York City providers: Are you paid by a Network? Check one: No. Yes. __________________________

APPENDIX 3

ANDREW M. CUOMO Governor

SHEILA J. POOLE Acting Commissioner

August 2017 Dear Child Care Provider: Every two years, the Office of Children and Family Services conducts a survey of the price of child care across the state of New York. This information is used to make sure that the rates that the county department of social services pays for child care on behalf of low-income families are consistent with the child care market in that county. You may be called and asked to participate in this year’s Child Care Market Rate Survey. The Market Rate Survey Team will be conducting the survey over the next 12 weeks. The Market Rate Survey phone number is 585-642-6304, and if you are called, it will appear as “Mrkt Rate Srvy” on your caller ID. If you choose to participate, you will be asked what you charge for child care and how many children are in your care. Please base your answers using the rates you charge to your “private pay clients,” not the rates you charge for children paid for by the county department of social services (or in New York City by the Administration of Children’s Services or Human Resource Administration). The phone survey should take approximately 15 minutes. Please do not send in the form. Wait for the Market Rate Survey Team to call you. We are providing you with the survey form so that you will be familiar with the questions and be able to answer them more easily during the phone interview, if you are called. If your telephone number has changed, please be sure that your licensor or registrar has your current telephone number so that we are able to reach you. Please tell people who may answer your telephone (staff, volunteers, household members in family day care) about this survey. The information you give us will be used to make any necessary changes to the child care subsidy rates for your county. Please be assured that the information in this survey will ONLY be used for that purpose. Your individual responses will not be shared with anyone other than the staff who will be data entering and processing the survey results. To meet federal requirements, we may call a few randomly selected providers to verify the information included in the survey. If you have any questions, please call us at (518) 474-9454. Thank you for your assistance. As a small businessperson, I know you appreciate how important it is for the payment rates for child care to be current. Therefore, I know I can count on your cooperation. Sincerely,

Janice Molnar Deputy Commissioner Division of Child Care Services

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